Here are some of the main messages that are emerging from the survey which we ran in April 2024, to understand how you and your families have experienced the SEND services in Staffordshire in the past 12 months.
This is the third time we’ve run this survey, so we’re starting to see some clear themes. We’re getting more respondents each time: this year 234 parents and carers responded, covering 325 children and young people – more than three times the first survey. We received responses from right across the county, describing the lived experience of parents and carers of children of a wide range of ages with many different types of additional needs. It allowed us to dive deep into what is happening across the county and whether the changes that have been made since the OFSTED reinspection of 2022 have made a real-world difference. We have shared the anonymised data and statistics with the Local Authority teams but most importantly we’re also making sure that they hear the stories and experiences that you told so vividly through the survey.
What we’re hearing from you is that most of you are not yet feeling those changes. There is still much more to be done to ensure that you feel your voices are being heard, that the ECHP process is running smoothly enough to address your child’s needs quickly enough, and that you know how to access the system. And there’s still more to be done to make sure that you feel like the support is tailored to your child and that you know where (or who) to turn to for different types of support.
What we’ve done since the survey:
We’ve analysed the data in detail and compared and contrasted it to the past two years’ surveys. We’ve shared it at the formal review meeting with the Department for Education and Ofsted team. We’ve spent time with the Local Authority team in charge of making the changes, going through the data in detail.
After our last meeting, Halit Hulusi (Head of SEND at the Local Authority) said:
“I want to say a huge thank you to Deb, Emma and Rachel from the Staffordshire Parent Carer Forum Steering Group for sharing the results from the 2024 Staffordshire Parent Carer Forum Survey. I also wanted to thank the 243 parents and carers who gave their time to share their views and experiences. I know that behind every response you have made is a child and family reality that we need to know about and listen to if we are to continue to drive improvements in your experiences of SEND services.
In our session, Emma walked through her analysis of the responses. Whilst you’ve told us that there have been some slight improvements, much of what you have told us indicates that we have a very long way to go to improve your experience of SEND services. I and the SEND teams will be working in the next few weeks with the PCF to specifically address the key themes in what you have told us. Thank you so much for engaging with this very important survey. We need to know about your lived experiences so we can continue to drive the SEND improvements that we all want to make, so that you can feel a real difference.”
What we’ll do next:
Like we’ve been doing for the past two years, we’ll keep working with Halit and his team to press home these messages, and to offer them the voice and views of parents and carers as they work out what more changes they need to make to have a positive impact for families in Staffordshire. We’ll share your comments with them too, so they hear specific examples of where things aren’t working and the real-world impact that has had on you and your families. We’ll also share the incidences of where things are working and why, to help them understand what can be done to learn from and capitalise on them.